System and method for drilling a borehole

Abstract

Systems and methods for obtaining and using information regarding drilling equipment performance. Drilling equipment performance data can be stored in a database and then accessed by a computer system, which can also access information regarding a well plan and information regarding the drilling of a well. The drilling information for the drilling equipment from previously drilled wells can be normalized, such as based on drilling parameters, formation information, and, once normalized, can be compared. Responsive to the comparison of the normalized information, one or more items of drilling equipment can be selected and used for drilling a well.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A drilling system comprising:
 a computer system comprising a processor, a memory, and instructions stored in the memory that are capable of execution by the processor, the instructions comprising instructions for performing operations comprising:
 receive, by the computer system, input information from a database, wherein the input information comprises drilling equipment information and a well plan, wherein the drilling equipment information comprises rate of penetration information for a plurality of drill bits and drilling information associated with the plurality of drill bits from a plurality of previously drilled wells, and wherein the well plan comprises information comprising a planned trajectory of a wellbore to be drilled, and information relating to a first geological formation associated with the planned trajectory; 
 normalize, by the computer system, the rate of penetration information for the plurality of drill bits to account for different control parameters used for the plurality of previously drilled wells; 
 compare, by the computer system, the normalized rate of penetration information for a first drill bit of the plurality of drill bits with the normalized rate of penetration information for a second drill bit of the plurality of drill bits; 
 select, by the computer system, the first drill bit for drilling the first geological formation of the wellbore to be drilled based at least in part on the compared normalized rate of penetration information and information regarding one or more characteristics of the first geological formation; 
 send, by the computer system, an output of the selected first drill bit for drilling the wellbore; 
 generate, by the computer system, a first plurality of control parameters for drilling the wellbore in response to the input information and the selected first drill bit; 
 receive, by the computer system, feedback information from a sensor during drilling of a well path of the wellbore with the selected first drill bit in accordance with the first plurality of control parameters; 
 generate, by the computer system, a second plurality of control parameters for drilling the wellbore in response to detecting an event based on the feedback information comprising at least information regarding one or more characteristics of a second geological formation; 
 compare, by the computer system, a projected well path drilled in accordance with the second plurality of control parameters and the well path drilled in accordance with the first plurality of control parameters; 
 in response to the projected well path falling outside a defined margin of error of the well path, select, by the computer system, the second drill bit for drilling the second geological formation of the wellbore to be drilled based at least in part on the information regarding the one or more characteristics of the second geological formation received from the sensor during drilling and the compared normalized rate of penetration information; and 
 in response to detecting the event based on the feedback information and selecting the second drill bit, execute, by the computer system, a modification of the first plurality of control parameters based at least in part on the second plurality of control parameters, wherein the event comprises at least an unexpected geological reading; and 
 a drilling rig control system configured to receive the output of the selected first or second drill bit and the first or second plurality of control parameters, and control a drilling rig to drill the wellbore with the selected first or second drill bit in accordance with at least one of the first or second plurality of control parameters or the modified first plurality of control parameters, respectively. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 drill the wellbore with the selected first or second drill bit in accordance with at least one of the first or second plurality of control parameters or the modified first plurality of control parameters. 
 
     
     
       3. The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the input information further comprises cost information. 
     
     
       4. The drilling system of  claim 2 , wherein a plurality of control parameters comprises at least one of: weight on bit, flow rate of mud, toolface orientation, and bit selection. 
     
     
       5. The drilling system of  claim 2 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 send, by the computer system, at least one of the first or second plurality of control parameters or the modified first plurality of control parameters to a second control system coupled to the drilling rig. 
 
     
     
       6. The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the event further comprises at least one of: an equipment malfunction and a maintenance period. 
     
     
       7. The drilling system of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 in response to the projected well path drilled in accordance with the second plurality of control parameters being equal to or falling within the defined margin of error of the well path drilled in accordance with the first plurality of control parameters, select, by the computer system, the first drill bit for drilling the second geological formation. 
 
     
     
       8. A method of selecting equipment for drilling a wellbore, the method comprising:
 receiving, by a computer system, input information from a database, wherein the input information comprises drilling equipment information and a well plan, wherein the drilling equipment information comprises rate of penetration information for a plurality of drill bits and drilling information associated with the plurality of drill bits from a plurality of previously drilled wells, and wherein the well plan comprises information comprising a planned trajectory of a wellbore to be drilled, and information relating to a first geological formation associated with the planned trajectory; 
 normalizing, by the computer system, the rate of penetration information for the plurality of drill bits to account for different control parameters used for the plurality of previously drilled wells; 
 comparing, by the computer system, the normalized rate of penetration information for a first drill bit of the plurality of drill bits with the normalized rate of penetration information for a second drill bit of the plurality of drill bits; 
 selecting, by the computer system, the first drill bit for drilling the first geological formation of the wellbore to be drilled based at least in part on the compared normalized rate of penetration information and information regarding one or more characteristics of the first geological formation; 
 sending an output of the selected first drill bit for drilling the wellbore; 
 generating, by the computer system, a first plurality of control parameters for drilling the wellbore in response to the input information and the selected first drill bit; 
 receiving, by the computer system, feedback information from a sensor during drilling of a well path of the wellbore with the selected first drill bit in accordance with the first plurality of control parameters; 
 generating, by the computer system, a second plurality of control parameters for drilling the wellbore in response to detecting an event based on the feedback information comprising at least information regarding one or more characteristics of a second geological formation; 
 comparing, by the computer system, a projected well path drilled in accordance with the second plurality of control parameters and the well path drilled in accordance with the first plurality of control parameters; 
 in response to the projected well path falling outside a defined margin of error of the well path, selecting, by the computer system, the second drill bit for drilling the second geological formation of the wellbore to be drilled based at least in part on the information regarding the one or more characteristics of the second geological formation received from the sensor during drilling and the compared normalized rate of penetration information; 
 in response to detecting the event based on the feedback information and selecting the second drill bit, executing, by the computer system, a modification of the first plurality of control parameters based at least in part on the second plurality of control parameters, wherein the event comprises at least an unexpected geological reading; and 
 sending, by the computer system, at least one of the first or second plurality of control parameters or the modified first plurality of control parameters to a control system of a drilling rig to drill the wellbore with the selected first or second drill bit in accordance with at least one of the first or second plurality of control parameters or the modified first plurality of control parameters, respectively. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 drilling the wellbore with the selected first or second drill bit in accordance with at least one of the first or second plurality of control parameters or the modified first plurality of control parameters. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 8 , wherein the input information further comprises cost information. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 9 , wherein a plurality of control parameters comprises at least one of: weight on bit, flow rate of mud, and toolface orientation. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 sending, by the computer system, at least one of the first or second plurality of control parameters or the modified first plurality of control parameters to a second control system coupled to the drilling rig. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 in response to the projected well path drilled in accordance with the second plurality of control parameters being equal to or falling within the defined margin of error of the well path drilled in accordance with the first plurality of control parameters, selecting, by the computer system, the first drill bit for drilling the second geological formation. 
 
     
     
       14. A non-transitory, computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:
 receive, by a computer system, input information from a database, wherein the input information comprises drilling equipment information and a well plan, wherein the drilling equipment information comprises rate of penetration information for a plurality of drill bits and drilling information associated with the plurality of drill bits from a plurality of previously drilled wells, and wherein the well plan comprises information comprising a planned trajectory of a wellbore to be drilled, and information relating to a first geological formation associated with the planned trajectory; 
 normalize, by the computer system, the rate of penetration information for the plurality of drill bits to account for different control parameters used for the plurality of previously drilled wells; 
 compare, by the computer system, the normalized rate of penetration information for a first drill bit of the plurality of drill bits with the normalized rate of penetration information for a second drill bit of the plurality of drill bits; 
 select, by the computer system, the first drill bit for drilling the first geological formation of the wellbore to be drilled based at least in part on the compared normalized rate of penetration information and information regarding one or more characteristics of the first geological formation; 
 send an output of the selected first drill bit for drilling the wellbore; 
 generate, by the computer system, a first plurality of control parameters for drilling the wellbore in response to the input information and the selected first drill bit; 
 receive, by the computer system, feedback information from a sensor during drilling of a well path of the wellbore with the selected first drill bit in accordance with the first plurality of control parameters; 
 generate, by the computer system, a second plurality of control parameters for drilling the wellbore in response to detecting an event based on the feedback information comprising at least information regarding one or more characteristics of a second geological formation; 
 compare, by the computer system, a projected well path drilled in accordance with the second plurality of control parameters and the well path drilled in accordance with the first plurality of control parameters; 
 in response to the projected well path falling outside a defined margin of error of the well path, select, by the computer system, the second drill bit for drilling the second geological formation of the wellbore to be drilled based at least in part on the information regarding the one or more characteristics of the second geological formation received from the sensor during drilling and the compared normalized rate of penetration information; 
 in response to detecting the event based on the feedback information and selecting the second drill bit, execute, by the computer system, a modification of the first plurality of control parameters based at least in part on the second plurality of control parameters, wherein the event comprises at least an unexpected geological reading; and 
 send, by the computer system, at least one of the first or second plurality of control parameters or the modified first plurality of control parameters to a control system of a drilling rig to drill the wellbore with the selected first or second drill bit in accordance with at least one of the first or second plurality of control parameters or the modified first plurality of control parameters, respectively. 
 
     
     
       15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to:
 drill the wellbore with the selected first or second drill bit in accordance with at least one of the first or second plurality of control parameters or the modified first plurality of control parameters. 
 
     
     
       16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein a plurality of control parameters comprises at least one of: weight on bit, flow rate of mud, toolface orientation, and bit selection. 
     
     
       17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to:
 send, by the computer system, at least one of the first or second plurality of control parameters or the modified first plurality of control parameters to a second control system coupled to the drilling rig. 
 
     
     
       18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions comprise further instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
 in response to the projected well path drilled in accordance with the second plurality of control parameters being equal to or falling within the defined margin of error of the well path drilled in accordance with the first plurality of control parameters, select the first drill bit for drilling the second geological formation. 
 
     
     
       19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the input information further comprises cost information.